Review: Thanos- A God Up There Listening

Quick Summary

Pros: Some elements of the story, mostly involving Thanos subplots, are interesting.

Cons: The majority of the read is not that interesting or exciting. The comic’s central theme is too ambiguous, which takes away some of its emotion.

Overall: This is a mediocre comic through and through. It tells a story that is interesting in a few small places but mostly fails to seriously capture one’s attention. The central narrative is uninspired, the emotion falls flat, and the artwork is just alright. This volume might appeal to readers desperate to learn anything and everything about Thanos but will likely disappoint most readers just looking for a good story.

Story

Thanos: A God Up There Listening, by Rob Williams, is a lackluster comic that ends up feeling pointless by the end of the read. The entire volume revolves around the son of Thanos exploring his father’s past and discovering how that past impacts his present. However, this journey is not that exciting or interesting. There are even moments that feel like they should be emotional or meaningful but end up just falling flat. The only upside is that the comic, as a whole, offers a unique glimpse into Thanos and highlights one of his past adventures. Overall though, this is not that worthwhile of a read.

(spoilers start here)

Most of A God Up There Listening is focused on Thane as he tries to learn more about his father, Thanos. This modern day journey ends up being disappointingly basic. It simply has Thane go to another planet, learn a little about Thanos, and then fall victim to Ebony Maw’s mental manipulations. By the end of the comic, almost nothing of note has happened, besides a slight change in Thane’s attitude toward the world.

At points, it feels like this narrative is trying to hit deep and meaningful topics but simply does not. The entire adventure ends with Thane taking an introspective look at his actions and beginning to embrace his darker ancestry. However, this change is poorly justified. Is Thane doing this because he truly believes he can no longer do anything right? Does he actually agree with his father? Is the comic implying that evil is hereditary? By the end of the book, I was unsure what the theme was and, thus, got little from Thane’s journey.

Despite all of this, there are a few bright spots in the read. Thanos’ battle against Ego reads well and makes for an exciting piece of the comic. In addition, the general concept behind looking into one of Thanos’ descendants should appeal to most fans of the character. However, none of these bright spots shines bright enough to justify the rest of the read.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in A God Up There Listening looks nice in many places but also has its fair share of flaws. The opening chapters are penciled well and contain solidly designed characters and locations. They make for a decent reading experience, despite the story’s flaws. However, later chapters, when the artistic team switches, see a slight decrease in the quality of the visuals. In addition, the comic is clearly laid out for Marvel’s “Infinite Comic” format, which does not translate as well outside of this format. In the end, the visuals in this book are average, in that they aren’t that good but also aren’t that bad.

Continuity

Thanos: A God Up There Listening continues Thane’s story from Infinity (Review) (Reading Order).

Thane’s story generally continues in Guardians of the Galaxy & X-Men: Black Vortex (Review).

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• Thanos Annual #1 discusses many events from Thanos’ past.
  • His original attempt to take over the universe and his fight against Captain Marvel occurred in the “Thanos War” (Reading Order).
  • He gained the Infinity Gauntlet and its Gems in the Thanos Quest limited series, collected in Silver Surfer Epic Collection: Thanos Quest (Review) or Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos (Review).
  • He used the Infinity Gauntlet to obtain total power in the Infinity Gauntlet (Review) (Reading Order) event.
  • He fought the Magus in the Infinity War (Review) (Reading Order) event.
  • He fought the Goddess in the Infinity Crusade (Review) (Reading Order) event.
  • He fought difficulties of his own making in the Infinity Abyss event, collected in Guardians of the Galaxy: Road to Annihilation Vol. 1 (Review).
  • He fought Galactus in the first story arc from the Thanos Vol. 1 series, collected in Thanos: Redemption (Review).
  • He was killed by Drax in Annihilation #4, part of the Annihilation (Reading Order) event.
• The Infinity Watch was formed across Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1-3, collected in Infinity Watch Vol. 1 (Review) (Reading Order).
• Thanos Annual #1 precedes but references the drama that unfolds in Thanos: The Infinity Relativity (Review).